Chinese Voices Project: Arts & Culture

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Lust, Caution (1.0 / 523)
Joanna Hsu
The award-winning new blockbuster by Ang Lee is
an espionnage thriller set in wartime Shanghai. The film's much-vaunted
eroticism aside, it represents an artistic triumph for the director and
his two stars.

Four Popular Writers (1.0 / 484)
Joanna Hsu
The most talked-about writers in Beijing
these days include a child prodigy, a fan of Japanese cartoons, and a
famous beauty. They might not be producing great literature, but they've
all got colorful stories to tell.

There's No Talk Like Crosstalk (1.1 / 357)
Joanna Hsu
The fast-paced comic dialogs of crosstalk,
a popular form of verbal folk art in China, fell out of favor in the '90s
due to tighter political control. It has recently made a comeback thanks
to a star performer whose live performances draw eager fans--and angry
lawyers--to his new club in Beijing.

Punning Cabbage (1.1 / 262)
Joanna Hsu
The humble cabbage, or bai cai, is more
than a ubiquitous winter vegetable. It's also a visual pun suggesting
good fortune--of the kind, for example, that might allow you to eat something
besides cabbage for dinner every day.

The Spring Festival TV Show (1.1 / 387)
Joanna Hsu
Watching the annual four-hour extravaganza on
New Year's Eve is a traditional part of the holiday ritual for millions
of Chinese families. The quality of the performances, however, is not
always what they'd hope for.

Confucius Hits Prime Time (1.4 / 334)
Chun Juan
A Beijing professor has caused a stir with
her popular televised lectures on the teachings of Confucius. Many praise her saying that popularizing Chinese classics helps
people appreciate the richness of China's intellectual heritage.
Some, however, condemn her interpretations for a lack of depth
and accuracy.

Chinese Idol (1.4 / 295)
Chun Juan
The most popular TV show in China over the
past couple of years, a loose spin-off of American Idol called
Super Girl, has prompted calls for regulation on the grounds that
dreams of the limelight are distracting young girls from their studies.

Fame, Fortune, and Fojiao (1.5 / 508)
Joanna Hsu
When celebrated Chinese actress and businesswoman
Chen Xiaoxu took the tonsure and became a Buddhist nun, she prompted reflections
on how life imitates art--and on how worldly success can fall short in
fulfilling spiritual needs.

Lust, Caution, Politics (1.5 / 247)
Emily Fang
Film-making in China is always bound up
with politics. In the case of Ang Lee's blockbuster Lust, Caution,
however, the political denunciations have come from the Oscar committee,
rather than the Chinese government..

Zhang Yimou and 'The Curse of the Golden Flower' (1.5 / 530)
Joanna Hsu
Zhang Yimou's most recent collaboration
with Gong Li has generated megabucks at the box office but decidedly mixed
reviews, many of which accuse the filmmaker of giving far too prominent
a role to his heroine's ample bust. Are the criticisms fair?